Mass Effect: Office Work
by NoirValor
Summary: Shepard resumes his duties as a Council Spectre. The Galaxy has new problems following The Reaper War with so called Neo-Cerberus Groups. Shepard and his partner Garrus Vakarian have been charged with stopping the ones who pose a threat to innocent lives.
1. Chapter 1

Forward by Author: Holy cow, people read my last story. Thank you all who read it, and especially those who reviewed it. I was able to correct some embarrassing spelling mistakes. Here is the first chapter in in a story that I think that I will have alot of fun writing. A Shepard/Garrus total fistbump destruction macho bromance. Sorry to say that Shepard Tali fluff was a little light this chapter, but I do plan on there being more of it to satisfy those who desire that content as well, because that was the big critique in my first story. But enough rambling, please enjoy.

Mass Effect: Office Work

Chapter 1

Commander Shepard sat in the living room of his Silversun apartment on The Citadel. The artificial morning sunlight streamed in from the floor to ceiling windows, giving the room a pleasant warmth. The big screen TV on the wall was tuned to the Alliance News Network, with a piece about how Neo-Cerberus groups had the potential to handicap arrangements between species cooperation. Shepard thought the danger Neo-Cerberus groups posed would have been obvious, but not all species in the Galaxy had a history of radical groups based around the advancement and promotion of their own race. Though the Batarians and Krogans were probably used to the rhetoric of radicals, and paid no attention.

Following the end of the Reaper War, the standing council races (except the humans) lost a lot of favor with the other space faring species. The Turians, Asari, and Salarians were all blamed from failing to take appropriate preventive action for The Reaper invasion, and for not helping out other races as they should have when Reapers started harvesting the populations on planets. The Humans were the only Council race that was lauded for its actions, mostly due to key figures such as Commander Shepard, and Admirals Hackett and Anderson. Even despite the fact that the Human Councilor Donnel Udina was caught assisting the radical human terrorist group Cerberus invade The Citadel. The NCG's affiliated with the Council races were focused on regaining their authority or returning themselves to their 'former glory'.

On the other side, races that were not part of the Council before The Reaper War had gained far more relative influence since the end of the fighting. Volus, Krogan, Batarians, etc. all now had more influence than in the previous centuries. The Reaper War gave the smaller races an opportunity to prove that they were equal in power and greatness to the Council races. The non-council races felt that the Council owed them, as the smaller races fought to support the Council system of government. Neo-Cerberus groups within these races were attempting to assert the power of their races, or diminish the power of the Council races.

Shepard thought that all NCG's were fools and morons. Cerberus was evidence of what happens when a groups pursuits advancement at the cost of others. Eventually these groups would start to do damage to others to promote their own agendas and ideals. Such was the nature of terrorists and criminals. Such was the nature of monsters, Shepard thought, no better than The Reapers.

Only three races seemed to learn this lesson. The humans, the race that the original Cerberus was trying to promote, were so embarrassed that they had such an aggressive, centrist group in their midst that the Terra Firma political party publicly disbanded. The Hanar and Drell, who both had strong philosophical/religious beliefs, had built up all of their relationships off of coordination. Lastly there was the machine race of Geth, who lacked any political ambition beyond that of self-preservation and optimal growth.

Shepard came out of his thoughts to realize that the news was now showing a weather report. He looked over to a staircase leading to the second floor of the apartment to see his quarian girlfriend Tali coming down the stairs. She was wearing her regular environmental suit adorned with purple wraps. Her quarian physiology prevented her from living outside the suit in most locations, even on a space station such as The Citadel. She was only able to walk around their house on the quarian home planet of Rannoch without becoming sick. Luckily quarian immune systems are highly adaptive, so hopefully Tali would soon be able to traverse Rannoch without any sort of artificial environment.

"How does the day look?" Tali asked Shepard.

"Weather looks good. That's the great thing about living aboard a space station. Weather is always great." Shepard said grinning.

Tali walked into the kitchen around the corner, likely to get a breakfast of nutrient paste. Shepard faced the TV again, but thought about what his new mission would be. As a Council Spectre, he was charged with handling critical missions that concerned the welfare of the entire galaxy. The Galaxy seemed stable at the moment, but then again, Saren was a hero to The Galaxy until his corruption was unearthed, and few people believed The Collectors even existed. Shepard guessed that he would have to wait to see what looming threat he would be tasked to deal with.

Tali walked back into the living room with a tube of nutrient paste in her right, three fingered hand, and a data pad in her left. Shepard assumed that Tali was working on stuff for the Quarian Embassy. "What is the big emergency today?" Shepard asked pointing to Tali's data pad.

"This? Oh this isn't work," she stared, "This is fun."

"What is so fun, and is it something that I can have fun with as well?" he asked with his eyebrows raised hopefully.

"This is plans for a girl's night tonight, and no, you cannot have fun with it. In fact the presence of any persons carrying a Y chromosome would defeat the entire purpose." Tali said mocking Shepard.

Shepard raised his hands in defeat. "Fine, you have fun tonight. I am sure that Garrus is more than willing to spend time with me after work. Speaking of which…" Shepard got off the couch he was sitting on and began to walk to the front door of the apartment. "The Normandy is docked, and I told Garrus that I would pick him up on my way to the Spectre offices." As he passed Tali on the way to the door he embraced her in a hug and placed a kiss on the visor of her environmental suit's helmet. "I love you." Shepard said affectionately.

Tali returned the hug and buried her head in Shepard's neck. "I love you too. I am glad we have more time."

Shepard reluctantly let go of her. He wanted to spend more time off, but knew that he had to get back to work. "Hey, I call you as soon as I can."

"You'd better." Tali said in playfully menacing fashion.

Shepard could only grin as he turned to the door and went on his way to work.

Shepard got a ride from Citadel Rapid Transit from the Silversun Strip to Dock D24 where The Normandy was parked. While driving, Shepard couldn't stay still at all. His knee kept jumping, his eyes wandering, his hands scratching. Shepard knew he was experiencing some form of cognitive disassociation. He either wanted to get to The Normandy and start solving problems of go back to the apartment and stay there all day spending quality with Tali.

When he finally arrived at the dock, Shepard was pleased to see that it was mostly empty. He did not want to have to talk about what he had been doing for the past six months, mostly because he wanted to keep his private life private. The only people there were the usual C-Sec guards, an Avina VI, and a few miscellaneous maintenance workers. As Shepard walked the length of the dock, he grew more comfortable, more determined. Shepard realized that he was back home, and that there was no reason to be worried.

The Normandy looked as it should. The alliance frigate was docked, but a quick glance showed that it was built for speed and precision, and it was not meant to be docked for long periods of time. The engines were powered down, and the docking lights blinking steadily. To Shepard, it looked less like a ship in its berth, and more like a crouch predator, ready to run.

Just as he was about to open the door to the airlock, it was opened from the other side and Shepard was met with the surprising sight of Dr. Chloe Michel. The red haired doctor was in her hospital uniform, and carrying a bag that likely contained her medical supplies. When her eyes met with Commander Shepard's, he noticed that the doctor was equally surprised.

"Commander," Dr. Michel said with a heavy accent. "What are you doing here?"

"I may have been on medical leave for six months, but I am still in command of The Normandy. What are you doing here?" Shepard asked. He already knew the answer though. Shepard knew that his turian best friend Garrus had started dating the human doctor during The Reaper War. Despite the level of cooperation between species, cross species couples were still a minority population, except for the asari. Because Shepard was a human in a relationship with a quarian, he knew that it could be hard to admit to someone.

"I…um…I uh…" Dr. Michel stammered. "Well you see…"

Shepard began to chuckle at her discomfort. "I know about you and Garrus." he said finally.

"Yes. Ok. Well I was just visiting." she said

"It's a tad early in the morning to be visiting. My guess is you spent the night." Shepard said with a grin. Dr. Michel averted her gaze then. "Hey it's fine. I'm fine with it. I'm glad you two have each other."

Dr. Michel let out a sigh of relief. "Well thank you for understanding."

"I'm with a quarian, so I understand better than most." Shepard said. His grin then turned wicked. "But I still have to make fun of Garrus for catching you make your escape."

Dr. Michel smiled at that. "I left him on the crew deck in his office." as she left to get a ride.

Shepard turned to face the frigate and walked confidently through the airlock. As he walked onto the bridge, he was greeted with the familiar atmosphere of dark lighting and orange displays. The neutral smell of metal and recycled air filled Shepard's nostrils. Lastly the familiar hum of electronics and background energy reminded Shepard that he was back where he should be.

As Shepard stepped onto the walkway, he was greeted with a familiar voice. "Well, well. The prodigal son returns." came the voice of The Normandy's pilot: Joker Moreau.

"Aw, I missed you to Joker." Shepard responded sweetly. "How were the six months without me?"

"Boring, but then again, everything is now that there is so rarely impending threats of death and extinction on a galactic level." Joker said deadpan.

"Yeah, peace and quiet is overrated. Where is Garrus?" Shepard asked.

"He's in the XO office on the crew deck. Did you see the doc?"

"Yep."

"Gonna make fun of him?" Joker asked.

"You know it." Shepard smiled.

Shepard walked away from the cockpit. As he walked through the rest of the bridge the crewmen game him comments of welcome and appreciation. He was pleased to see Samantha Traynor still on board. The sight of so many familiar faces brought a smile to Shepard. Shepard stepped onto the elevator at the back of the bridge and pressed the button for the crew deck.

The elevator began its decent. When it opened again Shepard stepped out to the sight of the wall memorial that was on the crew deck. Shepard's gaze fell to the name that was at the center of the wall. Admiral Anderson was the last name to be added, and the sight of it reminded Shepard of what happened on The Crucible. Shepard stood there for a few moments, and slum look on his face as he recalled his friend.

"It was a nice ceremony, for what it's worth." came the voice of Garrus from behind Shepard.

"Thanks. I'm sure he would have appreciated it." Shepard said somberly.

"Come on. Come into my office. I fill you in on what is going on."

Shepard followed Garrus into the XO office that he had clearly taken over. Garrus had moved in after Liara left. The massive computer had been replaced with a weapon bench which had a Krysae sniper rifle with various components and mods strewn about it. Glyphs station had been replaced with a pedestrian desk and computer terminal. Finally, in the area where the station that Liara used to coordinate her Shadow Broker network, Garrus installed a terminal with a viewing array and a number of heavy duty, insulated cables running into the wall. The biggest thing that Shepard noticed was actually a small picture frame with Dr. Chloe Michel and Garrus. It sat next to a flower in a vase atop the night stand by the bed.

Shepard pointed to the picture. Here was his chance to make fun of him. "You big, mushy, softy. You stare at this every night before you go to bed, and every day when you get up. Don't you?" Shepard said, trying to make Garrus uncomfortable. It worked.

"Well…I…um…"

"I ran into her outside The Normandy to. So she obviously spent the night. You are such a dog. Did you tell her you love her? Human women love that. How whipped are you at this point? How often do you two talk? Has she started implying marriage? Do you have a drawer at her place?" Shepard asked these questions without giving Garrus time to answer.

"OK. You can stop. I get it. Ask me something about The Normandy. Please." Garrus pleaded.

Shepard burst out laughing. It was a nice change of pace for Shepard to poke fun at Garrus' love life as opposed to Garrus making fun of his. "Fine. What's up with the terminal?"

"Oh that. I just wanted to be able to calibrate The Normandy's weapons without having to go all the way to the Main Battery."

"It's like fifty feet away." Shepard criticized.

"And this saves me fifty feet of walking."

"Is there anything else that I need to know?"

"Yes. I want you to meet someone." Garrus opened up his omni-tool to communicate with someone. "Atlas, could you please come to my quarters?"

"Affirmative." a voice on the other end responded.

"After you and Tali took you absence, James went to ICT, Liara and Javik went to Thessia for research, and Williams went back to protect The Council. So The Normandy was left without a full ground team," Garrus started. "In addition to this I wanted to try and find a way to fix EDI, since she was fried when The Crucible was fired. I managed to find a person who would be able to help with both of these problems." Garrus finished proudly.

At that moment a massive red and black Geth Prime unit walked into the room. "Greetings Shepard Commander. I am Unit P-Zero-Seven, though I have been given the moniker of 'Atlas' by the Normandy crew. I am pleased to make your acquaintance." said the robot.

"Atlas has been serving as a heavy weapons specialist for the ground team. In addition he has been working to rebuild EDI. I figured the Geth would be the best people to talk to about fixing a synthetic life form since they are synthetic life forms. Turns out they were more than willing to get one of their own to The Normandy as well." Garrus with a proud look on his face.

"Smart." Shepard said while nodding.

"Atlas, give Shepard a rundown of the repairs you have made to EDI." Garrus said.

"Certainly Vakarian Spectre." Atlas turned to face Shepard. "I have recovered the second most recent version of EDI's operating system, dated right before the Battle at Cronos Station. I have also repaired and connected the sensors within The Normandy's hull connected to her quantum blue box computer. Repair to the computer hardware and AI memory systems is currently 31% complete." Atlas said in a monotone fashion.

"I thought the process of fixing a destroyed AI back to its original state was impossible." Shepard stated.

"Negative," Atlas started. "There is a small likelihood any being could accomplish it without proper knowledge and training. Geth possess both requirements. Though the process is complex. An analogy: It is like piecing together a shredded document, but EDI is similar to a whole book."

"In addition, Atlas also assists Engineering with analysis, repairs, and optimization. On top of that he is operating our Cyber warfare programs as well, though he not as good as EDI is in either task. No offense Atlas." Garrus finished.

"Though I understand the concept of offense, I am incapable of feeling it." Atlas said reassuringly.

"Thank you for the update Atlas. You may return to your duties." Shepard dismissed.

"Affirmative. I look forward to further unit interaction and cohesion." Atlas walked out of the office, his head almost bumping the door frame on the way out.

"Well that was something I hope you would have told me sooner." Shepard said, staring at Garrus sternly.

"Hey, Spectre privilege applies to me now as well." Garrus defended. "Now are you going to complain about this, or do you want to go see what insane, borderline suicidal mission that The Council wants to send us on?"

"I gonna have to go with borderline suicidal insanity."

"Just like old times?"

"Just like old times." Shepard said fondly.

The two walked out of the office, intent on seeing what trouble they would be getting into together again.

A/N: I hope to update this within the week, but I know that my life has the tendency of making thinks like school and work a priority. Sometimes is suck to have a good work ethic


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Woot, getting this Chapter in under the wire of when I said I would. So the goal for this chapter was to get better at writing action scenes. I don't expect to be as good as Mathew Reilly or Andy Remic, but I can at least try. Anyway, big thanks to kill-phil for the review, helps me edit and improve. Thanks as well to all those who Favorited and Followed. That gives me a reason to keep writing, know that people want to read the story. Looks like I actually have to follow though on the plan to write this now. As always, please enjoy.

Chapter 2

Shepard and Garrus rode a Rapid Transit car from Dock D24 to The Presidium. When they arrived at the transit terminal, the two got out and examined their surroundings. The Presidium housed the offices of many important officials that were vital to the operation of both The Citadel and the galactic community at large. As a result, there was always a fair amount of activity in the area. This was exacerbated by the fact that many people believed that they were involved in averting, solving, or the creation of some society destroying emergency. The plus side was bars were open all day, every day.

Another benefit to Shepard, Garrus, and other Spectres and C-Sec personnel was that the presence of military, and intelligence operatives was not an unusual sight. Everyone just assumed they were on their way to get a mission briefing, an intelligence update, or to get yelled at by their species ambassador. In any of those circumstances, the various clerks, offices drones, and political officials actually tended to avoid such men as though they were carrying some kind of virulent disease. It did not bother Shepard in the least that no one wanted to talk to him as he and Garrus walked to the Spectre Offices.

As the two entered the Spectre offices next door to the C-Sec Presidium HQ, Shepard noticed that little had changed. The Spectre Requisitions terminal sat next to the Intelligence Terminal. A Quantum Entanglement Communicator was places just to the left of those. As Shepard looked over to the right side of the Spectre Offices, he noticed that the gun range had been modified since his last trip.

The Spectre Gun Range was a fairly pedestrian shooting experience for anyone who had visited it during The Reaper War. It was a simple lane setup with adjustable target distance. There was a weapon bench on the side so that operatives could modify their weapons to fit various specifications. The only real benefit over a regular gun range is that Spectres didn't have to pay, and they could shoot all day on the tax-payer's dime.

The Spectre Gun range now was about twelve feet wider, eliminating most of the spare platform that used to be there. The room as also taller, creating an almost stadium like feel to it when empty. In the upper corners and along the sides of the ceiling were projectors of some sort. Shepard didn't know what they were for and his curiosity led to a question.

"Garrus, what's up with the gun range? Did it get upgraded or something?" Shepard asked.

"Oh yeah. That was awesome when they did that. After the commercial success of the Armax Arsenal Arena, they offered to upgrade the gun range with the same holo-projection tech in order to create more effective training scenarios," explained Garrus. "It's still not as good as Pinnacle Station, but it is definitely better than it was. And still free."

"Cool, what type of scenarios are programed in?"

"Standard gun range, a data retrieval setup, a bomb disarming scenario where you are under fire. That one is really difficult." Garrus listed, counting on his three-fingered hands.

"Sounds useful." Shepard remarked.

"The most popular is a scenario designed by a human. The nickname for it is 'The House of Horrors'. It's a hostage rescue situation. Sixteen hostage takers, three hostages, two story house." Shepard listened to Garrus describe the scenario. "The goal is to terminate the hostiles, clear the house, and not shoot the hostages. The thing is the positions are randomized, and you don't get any intel."

"Sounds intense."

"That's the scenario for two people…the record is one minute, thirty-three seconds." Garrus said and starred at Shepard for a response.

After a second Shepard put it together. "You want to break that record. Don't you?"

"Jondum Bau and some asari set it two days after it was programmed and I have been waiting three months so that you and I could destroy it." Garrus said greedily.

Shepard smiled. "That's a hell of a way to announce that I'm back. I like it," he turned to face Garrus. "I assume that there is plenty of equipment ready for us to use inside.

"Every thermal clip, gun, and ammo mod you could possibly desire."

Shepard smiled and proceeded to walk into the range with Garrus right behind him. As he approached the armor locker Shepard examined his selection of protection. There was his classic N7 armor. With all of the attachments, it was basically a Lego set for big boys. There was a variety of armor sets that were also available, from the EUCC Blood Dragon and Reckoning armors. However there were also former Cerberus armors as well, such as the Ajax and Phantom armor systems, except these were painted with N7 colors. The Alliance began issuing some of these to N7 operatives, and Special Forces units because of their increased power and efficiency.

Shepard gazed over the armor set critically before settling on a set of N7 painted Nightmare armor. Instead of going with the standard helmet for that armor set, Shepard opted for the Recon Hood. Shepard preferred the Recon Hood's smaller silhouette and matte finish to the Nightmare's large, glossy visor. As and infiltrator and covert operative, Shepard didn't like it when he didn't possess the element of surprise.

After putting on the armor, Shepard walked over to the armory and saw that it was just as stocked as Garrus had described. Garrus was already inside the armory, wearing his blue and gold Armiger armor. He was browsing over the assault rifles with a set mandible, and a concentrated look in his eyes.

"What do you think is going to be the best set up to beat this scenario?" Garrus asked.

"Pistols." Shepard said with certainty.

"Why's that?"

"We're at short range, something you're not used to, so sniper and assault rifles are too large and cumbersome for room to room fighting. However there are hostages involved, so a shotgun or SMG might injure one of them if you're not accurate." explained Shepard.

"And I am not that good with SMG's." Garrus sighed.

"Neither am I. But we are both pretty damn good with handguns." Shepard said as he picked up an M-11 Suppressor with an extended clip and a heavy barrel.

"Well it isn't ideal, but I really want to set that record." remarked Garrus as he acquired an M-11 as well.

The two walked out of the armory and went over to a terminal on the edge of the firing range. Garrus typed in a few short commands and moments later, a two story building materialized in the middle of the gun range. It was a simple, prefabricated house. Two doors (front and back), and a number of windows on the ground floor offered possible points of entry. But the stairs leading to the second floor deck offered another way into the building.

"Garrus, follow me." Shepard ordered.

"Right behind you."

The two Spectres stepped into the holographic scenario and immediately started moving brisk jog. As Shepard moved to the base of the deck, a human sentry with a M-15 Vindicator stepped out onto the elevated platform. Shepard and Garrus fired synchronous shots to the sentries head, preventing him from revealing their position. The duo moved up the stairs to the second floor, and Shepard and Garrus took cover on either side of entrance.

Shepard reached out and turned the knob. He quickly forced the door open, rushing through and breaking to the left. Garrus came in right behind him, but moved to the right. The two managed to surprise the three hostile enemies in the room, all armed with M-8 Avengers. The Spectres promptly terminated the three hostage takers with practiced grace. Shepard made a mental note that there were still twelve contacts left. Shepard and Garrus reloaded the thermal clips in their weapons as they exited the room and entered a hallway. Shepard quickly checked the stairway on his left that led down to see it was clear and entered a room across from him.

Shepard breached the room quickly. There were three more enemies in this room, and unfortunately so was one of the hostages. But luck was on Shepard side, one of the armed enemies was within arm's reach. Shepard pulled out an electrically charged omni-blade and stuck the closest holographic threat. Shepard followed through with two more headshots to the two other hostage takers, saving the hostage. Garrus never even got to shoot.

"Show off." Garrus said with sarcastic contempt.

"Slow poke." Shepard fired back.

Garrus lead the way out of the room and down the stairs, wounded pride abandoned. As the two approached the base of the staircase, the sound of voices revealed that the enemy force had begun to worry about their comrades who were no longer responsive. As Garrus went through the door and engaged, Shepard followed behind and joined. This time there was a noticeable difference in the room, and that was the holographic targets were now shooting back with two M-8's and two M-23 Katanas. They were no match for two experienced Spectres however, and all four fell, doing only minimal damage to the shields of Shepard and Garrus.

As Shepard and Garrus ran to the doorway that led into the last room, they noticed that there was some kind of commotion on the other side. With a grim realization, Shepard realized that he and Garrus had lost the element of surprise. Shepard did the math in his head and counted that five hostage takers and two hostages would be in the final room. Shepard positioned himself next to the door, and Garrus was right behind him ready to breach. Shepard held up three fingers, and silently counted down.

When he hit zero, Shepard mule kicked the door off its hinges and preformed a SWAT turn to enter. Shepard once again broke left and started to engage. The sound of suppressed gunfire from his right informed him Garrus had also engaged as well. The hostage taker fired back with a combination of assault rifles and shotguns, but luckily the hostages were prone on the floor. Shepard took out the first two targets quickly, and with the last round in his thermal clip, put a bullet through the head of a third. Shepard trusted Garrus to take out the last two, and when he examined the rest of the room he indeed saw that the last to hostiles were down and the hostages were safe.

Shepard tuned to Garrus and grinned. "Don't say it." Shepard warned.

"Just like old times." Garrus said, ignoring Shepard.

"Damn it. Whenever we say that, something bad happens right before or after." Shepard pointed out.

"Yeah, but those things are never out fault." Garrus defended.

"What are we then? Two guys in the wrong place at the wrong time, all the time?"

Garrus pondered the question briefly. "No, two guys who are the only two able to regularly beat suicidal odds."

"Yeah, I guess we're just that lucky. Come on, let's go check the score."

The two walked out the front door of the simulated house and over to the control terminal. The timer read one minute and nineteen seconds, with the words 'new course record' beneath it. Shepard and Garrus had beaten the previous record by fourteen seconds on their first attempt together. A kill tally though inflated Shepard's ego even more. Shepard had tallied eight kills, Garrus had seven, and the two had a shared kill from the sentry on the deck.

"Garrus, still coming in second, aren't you?" Shepard teased, referencing when he beat Garrus in a shooting contest on The Presidium. "And this time, it's not just harmless bottles, what's you excuse now?"

"Chloe kept me up all night. She is very…flexible" Garrus said with a grin.

Shepard chuckled. "I'll let you have that one."

A beep came from an unseen speaker, followed by a voice. "Spectres Shepard and Vakarian, would you please meet us outside the training simulator. We have a mission for you."

Shepard and Garrus returned their weapons to the armory and walked outside the gun range. In their usual formal wear stood the Turian Councilor Sparatus and the Salarian Councilor Valern. The two stood at a screen that had a replay of Shepard and Garrus running through the House of Horrors.

"An impressive display." Sparatus said approvingly.

"Certainly." Valern concurred. "Though I believe that some money will likely change hands as a result of this."

"Oh right," Garrus started. "Drinks are on me tonight, Bau now owes me 200 creds."

"Think that we could get a double or nothing rematch?" Shepard asked wanting to get a piece of the action.

"I don't know. We can certainly try." Garrus said enthusiastically.

"I hate to interrupt your plans for alternative sources of income, but we are here to discuss a pressing matter." Valern said firmly. Shepard looked at the Councilors to show they had his attention.

"As you two know, a rising threat in the Galaxy is the presence of Neo-Cerberus Groups, or NCG's. They are radical groups based around the idea of attaining as much power for their species as possible." Sparatus introduced.

"One of the most dangerous of these groups is a group that calls itself the Order of Linron. It is a Salarian NCG that is upset with the way The Reaper War affected the status of the Salarian Union. Chiefly, they are concerned with the Genophage Cure, the expansion of humans and krogan, and what they describe as 'the suspicious circumstances of Dalatrass Linron's death'. They accuse the STG and the Spectres for her death." Valern explained. "Despite her questionable choices during the reaper conflict, Linron had enough political clout to garner a large number of followers. The Order of Linron currently wants the Salarian Union to have a say in all krogan and human expansion concerns and to investigate the STG and Spectres for possible evidence of an assassination plot.

"Did we or the STG bump off Linron?" Shepard asked out of curiosity.

Sparatus and Valern looked at each other for a moment before Sparatus responded. "The Reaper War was a tumultuous time. The Council has no official action and has no comment as to the fate of Dalatrass Linron, though we do regret the passing of such a well-known Salarian leader."

"Well that was both politically correct and disturbingly ominous." Shepard said.

"Back to the matter at hand," Valern started. "Intelligence collected by STG indicates that the Order of Linron is developing bioweapons for use against humans and krogans. A kind of poetic justice for the Genophage Cure. The viruses are being developed out of a Mallis Laboratories in an office tower on Zakera Ward."

"Your mission will be to infiltrate the labs, and acquire the data on the biological weapons, and who financed their development. That should give us an idea of who has some authority in the Order of Linron." Sparatus said. "In addition, you two will be paired together for the foreseeable future. During The Reaper War, it became somewhat common for Spectres to work in groups. In addition to allowing them to monitor each other for signs of indoctrination, Spectres with a strong working history were actually for more effective together than as individuals. You two have routinely survived dangerous operations such as Akuze and Omega alone, but together, how many other soldiers have took out Reapers by themselves on foot?" He finished.

Garrus looked at Shepard. "You and me. Together again."

"Just like old times." Shepard said while smiling.

"Oh damn!" Garrus exclaimed and looked at Shepard. "I get it now. You're right. This is gonna suck."

"Hey, at least we'll be together." Shepard said cheerfully.

A/N: So this chapter was inspired by the training missions and the level Mile High Club in Call of Duty. Those are so awesome.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Believe it or not, I actually wrote this chapter faster than the previous two. However I work two jobs, and am working on my undergraduate thesis paper as well, so it took until just this past week to even start writing it. I also began editing a Post Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess fic that I plan to put up, and started writing story boards for a few Spider-man (Comics) One-Shots. Additionally, I had one crazy idea about a Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon OC adventure. As Elvis once sang, I wish there were more than 24 hours in a day.

This chapter is a little shorter than previous ones, but I decided to edit out the last several hundred words because they work better in the next chapter. As always, please enjoy.

Chapter 3

It was several hours later, after Shepard and Garrus did research and formed a plan of attack. They were currently waiting for their ride to get to the landing pad outside the embassies. It was just past sunset now, and the various suited employees heading for their apartments for the night. Some though were dressed in clothing akin to one of the various private parties, or dinner events that official attended. Or they were headed to Purgatory, or the Dark Star Lounge for fun. Either way, Shepard and Garrus were going to work, not have fun. As they stood, a blue and white Alliance Kodiak shuttle touched down and opened its cabin doors.

The Spectres stepped onto the Kodiak shuttle with ease and took seats across the cabin from one another. The door to the cockpit was open, revealing the Normandy's shuttle pilot Steve Cortez back at the helm. During The Battle for Earth, Cortez had a nasty crash in a Kodiak when a group of Reaper Harvesters swarmed the shuttle he was piloting. That didn't stop him from getting back in one as soon as possible. Shepard was glad Steve was still in the Alliance. He was the best pilot Shepard had aside from Joker.

Steve leaned out of his out of his seat and turn to face his two passengers. "Good to have you back Commander. It wasn't the same without you." Steve said.

"Glad to be back Steve. Try not to crash on my first day." Shepard said in a friendly tone.

"If you're talking about Earth, I didn't crash. I was shot down." Steve defended. Both men grinned. "What's the plan sir?"

"Garrus and I are going into the Twin Pine Tower on Zakera ward. There is a company called Mallis Laboratories that is based out of the tower. That is where we are going."

"What is the layout? Do I need to drop you off and pick you up some place special?

Garrus jumped into the conversation. "We looked at the building blueprints. Twin Pines is like any other office tower. There are Sky Car garages at various intervals. We're lucky because Mallis is based out of three floors right below one of those garages."

"So you want me to drop you off there." Steve said.

"Exactly." Shepard confirmed.

"I'll have you there ASAP Commander."

Steve took off, heading quickly toward Zakera Ward. The steady hum of the thruster provided a deceptive calming background noise to the situation. It was as though it sounded the shuttle was made to transport monks, not two heavily armed government operatives. The sound of a weapon unfold echoed in the shuttle as Garrus unholstered a Phaeston assault rifle with an extended barrel, in addition to Krysae that was on his back.

"Are you two expecting trouble?" Steve asked.

"Actually no." Shepard said as he checked his M-11 Suppressor before moving to the Harrier Rifle (same as the Nightmare Armor, updated with an N7 color scheme). "We are planning on doing this quietly."

"How do you plan on doing that?"

"There is an access panel on the garage level we are going to. Because Twin Pines in on The Citadel, and because we're Spectres, we can disable the electronic security remotely." Shepard proudly explained.

"Okay, how are you gonna get inside?"

"Repel down two floors to where the offices are, and cut out way in through the window."

"What happens if there are bad guys inside trying to keep intruders out?" Steve asked.

"Deal with them as quietly as possible." Garrus said reassuringly. "It's like you don't have any faith in this plan Steve."

"Well you two don't have a great track record for things going as planned." Steve said critically.

Shepard looked into the cockpit before replying. "And that's not our fault."

Steve quit second guessing the two Spectres and focused on piloting the shuttle though traffic that was getting steadily heavier as they moved from The Presidium to The Wards. The sheer number of people who lived on The Citadel could populate five of the largest cities in the galaxy. It did mean that there was always something to do, depending on where you are, but it also means that everyone has to focus on what they are doing when in a public space. You never know what idiot could get in your way.

As Steve flew the shuttle, Garrus and Shepard check their weapons and armor one last time and put on their headgear. Shepard for his part was extra critical as this was his first operation in six months, and the last one he was on lots of people died in a suicide run. Even though he had already died once, Shepard did not want to tempt fate again.

When he finally got to checking the systems on his omni-tool, Shepard noticed that he had missed a call from Tali while he was still at the Spectre Office. The message at the end said that she wanted to talk to him. Shepard decided to give her a call back, and he put the call of speaker so that Garrus could say hi.

"SHEPARD!" Tali shouted enthusiastically when she answered. Shepard remembered what she said about plans for a girl's night out tonight.

"Tali sounds like she's having fun." Garrus grinned.

"Hi Garrus. Chloe is having fun as well."

"Tali, have you been drinking?" Shepard asked, already knowing the answer, as well as Tali's ability to hold her liquor.

"I only had one small drink. Then I had one veeerry big drink." emphasizing the volume.

Shepard shook his head. "Don't drive home."

"Aww, you're worried." Tali slurred.

"My girlfriend is drunk in a club, drunk without me. Yeah I'm worried."

"Hey Tali." Garrus interrupted "How is Chloe doing?"

"HI GARY." Chloe shouted from the other side of the omni-tool. "I'm also having fun."

"Oh great, my girlfriend is also drunk. And how did I not know about this?" Garrus said worried.

"Don't worry, Tali said I could spend the night at her place, as for how you didn't know. You didn't listen." Chloe chastised while slurring.

"Speaking of our place," Tali jumped back in. "Are you coming back tonight Shepard?"

"Sorry. Have work." Shepard said, just a little glad.

"Aw, that means I have to do things by myself." She said, indicating her Nerve-Stim program.

Shepard was thankful he was wearing the Recon Hood. No one could see the look of shock and horror caused by Tali's boldness. "Well, this might happen from time to time.

Tali let out a sigh of exasperation. "I know. Be safe. I know how thing go with you."

"I will. Or at least I'll try. Love you."

"Love you too." Tali finished as she hung up.

Shepard turned off the omni-tool and looked over at Garrus. "So Gary, what pet name do you have for Chloe?" he joked with a massive smile under his Recon Hood.

"We are not going to have this conversation." Garrus responded defensively. "Seriously, it's gonna be a long enough night as it is. Now we have to deal with our drunken women when we get home. Chloe's a handful when she get like that."

Shepard started laughing. Garrus looked like he was trying to stare a hole through Shepard's armor. Steve made a comment from the front of the shuttle.

"That right there is why I prefer men."

* * *

><p>The Kodiak gracefully pulled into the garage. Steve landed square off to the side in a dark corner, so as to give his passengers some cover and concealment. "I gonna pull out and hold a patrolling pattern until you call for me sir." Steve said.<p>

"Acknowledged." Shepard confirmed.

As the Kodiak lifted away and flew out, Shepard and Garrus pulled out their weapons and moved to the nearest wall. About 25 yards away was an access panel. When the two got there Garrus pulled out is omni-tool and started to burrow into the electrical system.

"You're out of practice." Garrus reasoned.

"So you want me to stand around and look good? I can do that." Shepard joked.

"So this is what you've fallen to. All look, and no substance."

"Well with all those scars on your face, one of us has to do the job."

The sound of a door unlocking echoed through the garage. "We have our way." Garrus said.

The two walked past the door that they had unlocked. That they had unlocked. The door led to an emergency stairwell that ran down though the floors of the Twin Pines office tower. It was wired to set off an alarm except in the event of an emergency. Or in this case, someone had Spectre Access.

The Spectres walked over to a viewing window that held a breathtaking vista of Zakera Ward at night. If they weren't working, the two might have taken a moment to take in the scenery. As it were though, the window was an obstruction to Shepard and Garrus. The two cut a section of the window out from the bottom to the top. Then, a pair of rappelling rigs were anchored to a support pillar a couple feet away.

Shepard and Garrus secured climbing harnesses to the rappelling rigs and jumped to the outside of the building. The two jumped down a couple of floors until they reached the middle level of Mallis Laboratories. The lone office room was empty on the other side of the glass. After they cut through the glass and entered, Garrus walked over to a nearby terminal and booted up the screen. Meanwhile Shepard unhooked the rappelling rigs and took up a firing position near the door with his M-11.

"If I were had a dangerous illegal secret I wanted to keep safe, where would I put it?" Garrus asked out loud.

"Not on me in case I got caught, but somewhere close so I had easy access." Shepard responded, as though it was obvious.

"And would I trust anyone else with it?"

"Hell no."

"Would I let anyone know the whole picture?"

"Definitely hell no." Shepard said bluntly.

"So," Garrus began to analyze, "We are looking for a suspect with privileged access, and the authority to compartmentalize. This leaves us with…Serak Klints. He's the chief engineer at this branch of Mallis. His office is down the hall of the left." He finished smugly.

"I save my applause for later." Shepard said.

The two exited the room and moved left. Shepard took the point position with Garrus in step behind him, Phaeston loaded. The office was dimly lit with the lights on the wall set at the lowest setting, and the overhead illumination turned off. The brown carpet and the beige walls looking just like any other office that could be anywhere else in the galaxy.

As the two tuned left a T-junction at the end of the hall, two armed men ran right into them. There was instant threat recognition for all four people. Shepard and Garrus reacted, the two men clearly not expecting intruders. Garrus brought his knee to the stomach of one of the men, then pulled the head down and brought another knee to the combatants face, finishing with an elbow drop to the base of the skull. Shepard shuffled to his left while pivoting right and put his foot behind the opponent's right leg. Shepard then grabbed the M-96 Mattock, lifting the barrel up and pushing the stock back. The guard fell over Shepard's leg and hit the ground, where Shepard drew an M-11 and shot him.

"Think they were able to call back up?" Shepard asked, worried the element of surprise was gone.

"Well I don't hear an alarm. So that is probably a good sign." Garrus said optimistically.

Shepard took a moment to look at the mercenaries that they attacked. Their distinctive gray armor stood out to Shepard from an earlier encounter on The Citadel. "Garrus, these guys are CAT6. What are they still doing around?"

"Oh, after the whole clone fiasco, CAT6 gained a certain amount of notoriety for being able to steal the Normandy, even if it was for all of ten minutes. Still after that, they became the premiere 'Bad Guys with Guns for Hire' club. They may not be as big as Blue Suns or Eclipse right now, but Intel says they are the most heavily recruiting by a long shot." Garrus explained.

Shepard shook his head. "Great, more idiots with itchy trigger fingers. Let's get out of here as soon as possible."

The door leading to Klints office was a short distance away. The two beat the electronic lock and were inside in seconds. Shepard used a hand signal to tell Garrus to crack a safe that was mounted inside the wall. Garrus moved to the mass of steel and looked at it for a second.

"Shepard. It's a mechanical lock. I don't know how to beat it." Garrus spoke with disappointment.

Shepard looked at the safe and then had a very evil grin on his face. "I have a plan." He made a call on his radio. "Steve we need you back here. Two floors down, left of where you dropped us. Garrus get over by the door. Get ready to shoot stuff." Shepard said as he pulled out a rappelling rig from earlier and a few sticky grenades.

"What are you gonna do? Blow the safe? Did you learn that from the 'Urdnot Wrex School of Safe Cracking'?" Garrus interrogated sarcastically.

"No. I'm gonna blow the wall, tie the safe to the Kodiak, and have Steve fly off with it." Shepard said as though the plan wasn't crazy.

"And what about us?"

"We have to distract CAT6 so Steve can make a clean getaway."

"And what is our exit strategy?" Garrus said, visibly concerned.

"Fight our way back to the garage. Steal a car, and drive fast." Shepard finished.

There was a brief silence as Garrus thought over what Shepard told him. "…You know, that could work." Garrus said as though the plan was no longer crazy.

A/N: If the foreshadowing wasn't obvious enough, I plan on the next chapter being balls-to-the-walls insane.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Shepard applied stick grenades to the wall surrounding the safe. He unspooled the rappelling rig so there was enough slack to reach from the wall to the window where Steve would be. As he finished the preparation for his plan, he stuck an electromagnet clip on the safe and powered it up. Shepard saw Steve arrive in The Kodiak outside the floor to ceiling window.

"Commander, I'm outside, what do you need me to do?" Steve asked.

"That glass looks like it's reinforced. When you see the explosion inside, you're gonna need to crash through it. We'll strap on the safe." Shepard stated firmly.

"Then I fly away?"

"Correct."

Shepard and Garrus crouched behind a heavy office desk for protection from the blast. Shepard then pressed a button on his omni-tool and the sticky grenades erupted with a mighty force. The interior of the office became a scene of bedlam. On one side chunks of wall and rubble came from an explosion. On the other, falling glass from a shuttle came crashing through. To top it all off, an alarm rang though the office now.

Garrus poked his head up over the desk to examine the surrounding devastation. "Well that was dramatic."

Shepard placed another electromagnetic clip on The Kodiak and hit the side of the shuttle. "Steve get out of here and back to The Normandy. Get Atlas to start working on the safe and any files inside."

Steve pulled the shuttle out of the office. The slack was taken out of the line connecting the shuttle to the safe. When it went taught, there was an audible groan of metal as the safe was pulled out of it's housing in the wall. When it pulled free shortly after, the safe flew out the window at high speed as Steve flew off.

Shepard pulled out the Harrier Rifle. The weight of the weapon felt reassuring to Shepard. He and Garrus left the room and entered the hall way. The Spectres sprinted down and over the two CAT6 mercenaries they had dealt with earlier. Instead of turning right, where they came from, they went straight back to the stairwell that would take them up to the garage. They passed through a doorway and into a communal working area with cubicles, desks, and affiliated paraphernalia. It was filled with CAT6 guards.

Shepard and Garrus took cover behind a counter and started to fire at the enemy soldiers. This had limited effectiveness as two Heavy Troopers with shields positioned themselves in between the Spectres and the CAT6 group. Four CAT6 troopers returned fire. A sniper and a CAT6 Specialist provided support at the rear of their formation. The coordination of CAT6 in a smaller environment created a stressful situation for Shepard and Garrus.

Shepard made a series of hand signals to Garrus. He wanted Garrus to provide suppressing fire while he flanked. Garrus' armor would keep him safe while Shepard's tactical cloak would keep him undetectable. It may have been unoriginal, but it had worked flawlessly several times in the past.

Garrus popped up and started shooting. Shepard disappeared like a premium magician's illusion on Illium. As he worked his way around the edge of the room, the CAT6 troopers began to group close together, suspecting a counter play. Shepard finally arrived within striking distance of the sniper. While cloaked, he pulled out his omni-blade and slashed at the unsuspecting combatant.

As the sniper's body hit the ground, the CAT6 Specialist turned to defend himself. He didn't get the opportunity though as Shepard fired two rounds into his chest cavity. Shepard then turned his rifle to the Heavy Troopers who were nearing Garrus. Two sustained burst to their unprotected rear, and they fell quickly. Garrus had already taken down two of the normal troopers. As Shepard reloaded a thermal clip, the Turian killed the last two of the CAT6 squad.

"Nice work. Let's move." Shepard said. Garrus nodded his response.

The two Spectres moved to the stairwell and began their journey up to the garage. The narrow corridor left them exposed and able to be attack from both above and below, so instead of working their way up slowly, the two sprinted up the two floors. They finally passed through the door they had unlocked earlier and into the garage to look for an escape vehicle.

The cement stairwell was lit with a fluorescent lighting that was typical of a stairwell. The pounding of boots echoed from both above and below as a squad of CAT6 mercenaries began to rise through the structure. Garrus led the way up the stairs, running as fast as he could. Shepard was slower because he was backpedaling up the stairs with his Harrier pointed back down the corridor, just to be prepared.

The two burst through the doorway and into the garage. A steel grey shuttle was entering the open aired structure, the doors open. More CAT6 troopers were inside, firing outward at the two government operatives as they took cover. The cracks of bullets impacting the walls and the sides of sky cars echoed through the air.

A burst of static followed by the voice of Steve Cortez came over the radios of Shepard and Garrus. "…inforcements are on route. Repeat, enemy reinforcements are on route."

"Thanks Cortez," Garrus said "we found them." He looked over to Shepard. "They must have shielded the interior against unauthorized communication."

"That discovery doesn't help us much now." Shepard announced, somewhat bitterly. "Any bright ideas on how to escape? You have the most experience escaping these sorts of situations." looking at his partner.

"Typically I wait for you to show and blow everything up." Garrus said.

"OK." Shepard looked around the garage for options. "How about that?" he asked pointing to a sleek black sky car with grey trim. The car was a little wider than most, and the engine in back visibly larger. It was easily identified as a super car.

"That's the 2188 Blackout." Garrus said in awe as they were still being shot at.

"Yeah. We're stealing…or requisitioning that." Shepard said. It was not every day that he was able to ride around in one of the fastest production cars on the market. "I'm driving though."

"Oh the horror. On three I'll cover you. You drive up, I'll jump in. We drive away." Garrus described.

"Simple. I like that plan."

Garrus swapped the Phaeston for the Krysae and made sure there was a thermal clip loaded. "One, two, three." Garrus popped up and fire an exploding round from his rifle. Instead of aiming for any of the CAT6 personnel, he aimed for a car next their shuttle. The car detonated violently, knocking the shuttle over, and killing a handful of troops. "I hope that car belonged to a Mallis employee." Garrus said to no one specifically.

Shepard sprinted over to the Blackout. The doors opened from a rapid hack into the onboard computer. A few short keystrokes later and the engine roared to life. Shepard looked around the interior and saw that it was equal parts Trident fighter and luxury sky car. He would have taken more time to admire the craftsmanship if he wasn't being shot at.

Shepard oriented the vehicle by performing a 180 degree burnout and revving the engine. The rapid acceleration pushed Shepard down into his seat as he drove up to Garrus. He opened the passenger door up for the Turian as the second Spectre jumped in.

"Drive!" Garrus shouted.

"No shit!"

Shepard pushed the control throttle to the max and drove into the exit lane of the parking garage. The Blackout blew out of the structure at over eighty miles an hour. The building quickly shrank in the rearview mirror.

"You think were safe?" Shepard asked hopefully.

Out of nowhere another CAT6 shuttle appeared. It began to fire at the Blackout in an attempt to kill the two inside.

"Nope. We're not that lucky." Garrus said as he rolled down the windows. The turian began to shoot his Phaeston out the window in an attempt to shoot down their pursuer.

Shepard rolled down the window on his side. "Hold on." Shepard made a hard right turn through a series of buildings that created a narrow corridor. The pursuing Kodiak was forced to make a wider turn due to its larger mass. Anticipating this Shepard slowed down to be right behind the Kodiak.

Shepard pulled out his M-11 and shot half of a clip into the thrusters. The Kodiak lost all propulsion and was forced to switch over to the four maneuvering thrusters that were normally only used in smaller environments.

"That should make this next bit easier." Shepard said.

"What is your plan?" Garrus said with a strange combination of humor and worry.

"Um. Something insane…don't tell Tali."

Shepard pulled the Blackout just over the Kodiak and opened up the driver side door. He then turned on the Blackout's auto pilot. Then he jumped out of the car and onto the top of the shuttle, both of which were still moving at a high rate of speed. Shepard moved to the rear of the shuttle where the Mass Effect generator was housed. Shepard shot off the access panel and placed a sticky grenade on the generator. He then ran back over to the Blackout and jumped in.

"I'm telling everybody about this. That was awesome." Garrus grinned.

"Yeah. Baily is gonna be pissed though."

"Why?"

Shepard detonated the sticky grenade and the CAT6 Kodiak began to fall out of the sky at a barely controllable pace. "Because C-Sec is gonna have to clean up that mess." He chuckled.

The two drove back to the Spectre Offices. Shepard parked the Blackout and placed a quick call to have it retrieved by the owner. He didn't say he was the one who stole it though. Garrus was already inside at the communication terminal connecting to the Normandy.

"Atlas, what have you got from the safe?" Garrus asked.

"Vakarian-Spectre. Analysis on the data log is still ongoing. Preliminary data reveals Order of Linron liquid fiduciary assets, access codes to physical structures, targets of opportunity, and ongoing operations." Atlas listed. "Data analysis should be complete in point oh-six hours."

"Thank you very much Atlas. We'll be back tomorrow morning. I would like you have a list of possible target locations to hit as soon as we arrive."

Atlas paused for a second. "Gratitude acknowledged. Correction to second statement. You no longer command the Normandy. Shepard-Commander determines operational procedures."

The Human Spectre walked in during this statement. "Ha." He laughed.

"Do you have a better idea?"

"No." Shepard admitted "Atlas, I like that plan. Make sure it's done. Have Specialist Traynor help you."

"Acknowledged. Initiating unit cooperation." Atlas disconnected from the computer terminal.

Garrus turned to face Shepard. "Glad to be back still?"

"Garrus, there's no place like home." Shepard said fondly.

Garrus started laughing boisterously.

"What's so funny?"

Garrus gasped for air. "I just imagined you in ruby slippers." Shepard started to laugh as well.

"What do you think we're are gonna have to deal with next?" Garrus asked eagerly.

"Some smaller, quick operations. A few larger more intense ones."

"When do we start?"

"Tomorrow. We still have to deal with two drunken women back at my place." Shepard turned to leave out of the office.

"I have always hated dealing with intoxicated people." Garrus said disdainfully, remembering his days as a C-Sec officer.

"Hey. This job is much better." Shepard said looking forward to his upcoming work.

A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long to get out. I have been playing alot of Deus Ex as opposed to writing. I am gonna mark this story as complete, thank you everyone for reading. I would like to write a epilogue scene back at Shepard apartment. But as I have admitted, I am pretty bad a writing fluff. I am open to suggestion to technique though. I have certainly enjoyed the process of writing this and certainly plan to do more stories now. I have also started wring a Legend of Zelda that takes place after Twilight Princess for those who are interested in that series as well. Once again thank you all for reading, reviewing, following and favoriteing (yes I know that that is not a word).


	5. Epilogue

A/N: A short drabble of an epilogue. I said I would get on out and I did. Sorry it took so long. I have been busy writing my undergraduate thesis, a Legend of Zelda fic and playing video games. But it is finally here with more of that Shepard/Garrus dialogue you all seem to love. If you want to know my plans for future activity, I have some more information at the end. As always, please enjoy.

Epilogue

Commander Shepard walked into his apartment with Garrus trotting along right behind him. "All right. The bartender said they were going home. Let's hope that didn't mean a shuttle to Rannoch or Earth." Shepard said with hesitation. He and Garrus had gone to the Silversun Casino to catch up with Tali and Chloe. When they got there the bar was almost empty, and the two ladies were not anywhere to be seen. A quick discussion with the bartender revealed the events of the night.

While the two Spectres infiltrated Mallis Labs, their girlfriends were entertaining the other guests (mostly Asari, and female humans, Quarians, and Turians) in the casino's lounge with drunken stories of daring and excitement. From shooting Reapers and saving hostages, to emergencies surgeries and medical lockdowns, Tali and Chloe told tall tales of their occupations. As the night got later, and the drinks got stronger, their stories became grander. Apparently Shepard and Garrus were minor footnotes in a story were Tali stopped The Reapers and Chloe saved The Citadel.

"I am not going pay for a 'sober cab', as you humans call it, for a trip across the galaxy." Garrus said. "I may care about Chloe, but this will have to be a teachable moment".

The two walked into the living room where they were greeted with an amusing sight. Chloe was laying on the couch in the fetal position under a blanket. Her shoes, pants and an empty bottle of wine discarded on the ground beside her. The stench of a combination of liquors came off the doctor like stink on a farm animal. Her mouth was agape with a small trickle of drool hung out of her mouth and on the pillow where her head was.

"Wow," Shepard stated. "That's hot. I can see how you find her irresistible. Seriously. I'm having a hard time resisting her." He finished with deadpan sarcasm.

Garrus held up a finger, indicating to wait a moment, and began to walk over to the stairs up to the second floor. He may have been embarrassed by the sight of his girlfriend, or going to get medical supplies. The Commander did not know.

"C'mon Garrus. Don't be a poor sport. This is hilarious." Shepard explained.

"It will be for me as soon as I find Tali." Garrus said from the second floor.

"Why?"

"Tali is still a lightweight. Even compared to Chloe." The turian explained without even looking at the human.

A frown crossed Shepard's face. "Ah crap." He muttered under his breath. He knew Garrus was right. Tali was infamous on the Normandy for her humorous behaviors when she was under the influence of dextro alcohol.

A few moments later Garrus came back to the stairwell with a big smile and announced his discovery. "Found her up here".

"Ah crap." Shepard muttered again. The Commander almost wished Tali was on Rannoch at that moment.

Shepard walked up the stairs and followed Garrus through the master bedroom and into the connected bathroom. There on the tiled floor lie Tali. She was curled up in a ball, same as Chloe. Tali was next to the toilet, with a half full bottle of wine on top of a nearby counter. She was muttering unconscious drunken words about killing spiders and harvesters.

"Seriously. You picked a real gem there Shepard." Garrus said with the same deadpan sarcasm the human used earlier, smug smile still on his face.

Shepard grunted a non-committal response. If the night was any indicator, His life was still going to be as interesting as it was when The Reapers and Cerberus were still around.

Garrus slapped the other Spectres shoulder. "Hey…just like old times. Am I right?

Shepard sighed. "Goddamn it." He groaned.

A/N: So I have some goo news and bad news. If you like this story, I have a similar one that is based on the events following The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. It has also been getting positive reviews from other readers. The bad news is that I will be taking a break at the start of January after I finish up the previously mentioned story. I will be moving and starting a new job and I just foresee the need for some time to get all of those things settled and straightened up before I will be able to invest massive amounts of time into writing more stories. On that front, I will continue. Expect more Shepard/Garrus Bromance, with pitiful attempts at Shepard/Tali fluff (sorry, just not my strong suit). Don't worry I already have ideas knocking around in my head, so writers block shouldn't be a problem. Just my life and it's steady advancement (not really a bad thing though).

~NoirValor December 2014.


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